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| Recent history suggests Brennan Boesch will miss this pitch. (Getty Images) |
Brennan Boesch is supposed to hit. He's not much of an asset on the bases, and he's a net minus in the field. So he needs to hit. The problem is that he isn't: thus far in 2012, Boesch owns a slash line of .249/.286/.386, which, it goes without saying, is unacceptable for a corner outfielder.
It's not surprising, then, that MLive.com's Chris Iott reports the Tigers are losing patience with Boesch. "I don't know what to do with him, because he's fighting himself," Detroit manager Jim Leyland told Iott. "He gets mad when we talk about relaxing, but he's just fighting himself. I don't know what to do with him, to be honest with you."
Boesch had a strong July (.295/.329/.538), but otherwise he hasn't produced at a high level since June of last year. According to Fangraphs' version of WAR, which takes into account defense and base-running as well as production at the plate, Boesch has been one of the least productive qualifiers in all of baseball this season.
Given that the Tigers are out of playoff position at the moment, a change may be in the offing. Boesch's prolonged struggles mean that the Tigers are a better team when Quintin Berry and Andy Dirks are manning the corners. Don't be surprised if that's the primary arrangement moving forward.
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